


The Ugly Duckling (With a Twist)

by shopgirl152



Category: Fairy Tales & Related Fandoms, Original Work
Genre: Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder, Being Yourself, Children's Literature, Children's Stories, Fables - Freeform, Fractured Fairy Tale, Gen, One Shot, Short Story, beauty vs ugly, duck with attitude, fairy tale, it's all a matter of perspective, loving yourrself, morality tale, perseverance, reimagined fairy tale, reinterpretation of the ugly duckling, the ugly duckling, ugliness vs beauty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 22:50:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6169852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shopgirl152/pseuds/shopgirl152
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, as you well know, there was an ugly duckling. But this duck was quite different from the one you know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ugly Duckling (With a Twist)

**Author's Note:**

> So this is an old story I wrote in seventh grade. I had found it written on a piece of notebook paper and then transcribed it into the computer. I recently ran across it again and made a few minor revisions. Figured I'd post it here for funsies.

One spring day, in a quiet pond with tall reeds and crystal clear water, a duck hatched from an egg. His parents were not happy.

“Bye gosh!” said his Father. “Look at him! He’s so ugly he could break a mirror!”

The duck didn’t think this was true, but since he was ugly, he was an outcast, so his parents kicked him out of his peaceful pond among the reeds.

“Don’t ever come back again! You’re a disgrace! Goodbye!”

Feeling devastated, he went to a local shop where they sold mirrors. He walked in and looked at himself, lamenting, “Oh I’m so ugly! I wish I looked better!”

As soon as he had finished saying this, at that very instant, all the mirrors broke and he was kicked out once again.

Well, after that, he didn’t know what to do, so he wandered around town, still lamenting. “Oh woe is me, woe is me! To be ugly is a sheer human tragedy!”

He soon came upon a very large castle. Nailed to the front of the castle was a large sign that said:

_Wanted: A cook who must know how to make a garden salad, a soufflé and an apple pie. Will be paid $50.00 an hour._

“Wow! That’s right up my alley! I’ll bake as many garden salads, soufflés and apple pies as his majesty desires! I’ll make a great cook!”

The duck applied for the job immediately.

“Hello, your majesty! I am applying for the job as your royal cook! Ta da!” He did a little jig.

“Servants! Escort me to the bathroom!” bellowed the king. “I do believe that I am coming down with something.” (Usually, the king didn’t act this way, but he wasn’t used to the duck who was now standing in the royal court)

“Oh boy,” said the duck. But, nonetheless he headed into the royal kitchen and made soufflés, apple pies and garden salads by the dozens.

Soon it was time for the royal dinner.

“Here’s your soufflés, garden salads, and apple pies your Majesty!” said the duck, tap dancing into the royal dining room while holding a huge serving platter. “Bon appetite.” He set the platter in front of the King.

The king looked at his food and immediately lost his appetite.

“What’s the matter?” The duck asked. “Don’t you like my cooking?”

“Oh very much so. It’s absolutely exquisite, superb! But you’re so ugly, you’ve made me lose my appetite and I can’t have that or else I will end up starving to death! Servants, please have this duck removed from the premises.”

And with that, the duck was tossed out of the royal court and landed with a thud outside the castle.

“Well excuse me!”

Not about to give up, the duck tried another job and got the same results. He tried another job and another and another, over and over again. But every time, he was fired for the same reason:

“YOU’RE TO UGLY!”

“I get the picture! Sheesh! Everybody’s a critic!”

He soon came upon an opera house and was hired on the spot since he was so ugly.

He now does that for a living since he is allowed to wear masks in his shows, is a dancer and qualifies absolutely perfectly for a variety of villains’ roles since he’s so ugly. In fact, he recently scored the role of the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera and couldn’t be happier.

And the moral of the story is: being ugly is ugly to most people, to others, it’s a thing of beauty.


End file.
